Forgiveness
by MusicRocks807
Summary: Hoping she looked like just another gothic teenager in her dark civilian clothes, Raven subtly compared Terra in the photograph to the girl in the street. A section of hair fell over her eyes, and in the split second before she tucked it back in frustration, Raven could understand how Beast Boy had mistaken this girl for Terra. Now the only thing left was to explain it to her.


**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, but I bet if I did, I wouldn't have to do my stupid Science coursework :/**

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The girl looked completely normal. Converse, jeans, and a pink off-the-shoulder shirt; nothing remarkable about her.

Raven glanced down at the photograph in her hand. It was an old photograph of the team: Robin, front and centre, relaxed yet disciplined; Starfire floating behind him, her red hair also as shimmery as her joyous smile; the empath herself with her hood down, even if her face was neutral and her posture closed-off; Cyborg, his arm slung around Raven's shoulders and a grin plastered across his features; and Beast Boy, smile wide and eyes tender, tightly grasping the last person in the photo. Terra.

Hoping she looked like just another gothic teenager in her dark civilian clothes, Raven subtly compared Terra in the photograph to the girl in the street. They would've had the same eyes, she noted, had the girl not been wearing slim glasses. Their hair could've been similar too, but the girl's was shoulder length, with the ends dip-dyed a pale brown. _Is it…?_

Suddenly, a boy a few years older than Raven barged past the girl thoughtlessly, almost knocking her to the ground.

"Hey! Watch it, you idiot!" she yelled over her shoulder angrily. A section of hair fell over her eyes from the motion, and in the split second before she tucked it back in frustration, Raven could understand how Beast Boy had mistaken this girl for Terra.

He had first mentioned it over a month ago, when they returned to Jump City after defeating the Brotherhood of Evil. The team had brushed it off as his imagination originally, assuming it was just his imagination trying to convince him that his old friend wasn't really gone. However, when it continued, Robin had quietly requested that Raven – as both the most rational member of the team and the least attached to Terra – investigate the situation, and explain to the poor girl why green animals kept following her around Jump City.

Securing her hood around her face, Raven hurried across the road and caught the girl's arm. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second, miss?"

"Uhm…" The girl looked around awkwardly. "I… Yeah, I guess so…? Wait a second, are you-"

"Raven? Yes." The half-demon peered out from under her hood, attempting to be somewhat friendly. "Listen, I just wanted to speak to you about something. Do you mind if we go for a walk somewhere? I don't want to see any… _fans_."

The girl shrugged, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "… Sure? I… I'm not goin' anywhere right now, so… Fine?"

Raven then led the girl away from the crowded streets, staying utterly silent until they were at the base of a grassy hill. She remembered the hill, of course; it was where she had revealed to the Titans that Trigon was on his way to end the world as they knew it. _And now I'm probably about to turn this poor girl's world upside-down,_ thought Raven bitterly. _Figures._

"Hey, uh, Raven? Where are we going?"

The empath lowered her hood and turned to the girl who had been diligently following her for at least half an hour. "Here, I suppose. I just wanted to get away from all of the crowds."

"Ah, I get ya. I don't like crowds, either," the girl agreed.

"Hmm…" Raven nervously pulled the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her hands, then decided she wanted her hands free and rolled the sleeves back up a little. "I'm sorry, but can I just ask what your name is?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Ashley. Ashley Johnson. Why?"

"I just wanted to clarify something." The superheroine sighed. "Listen… You may have noticed that my teammate Beast Boy-"

"Freaking stalks me?" Ashley put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, I kinda noticed that. What's his deal?"

"It's just… Can I show you something?"

Ashley nodded. Calmly, Raven held out the photograph of the Titans, indicating to Terra. "See that girl?"

"Yeah?" She folded her arms across her chest and bit her lip anxiously. "What about her?"

"That's our old teammate, Terra Markov," explained Raven. "She was with us for over six months, before she… well, betrayed us, I suppose is the right word."

Ashley swallowed. "… That sucks."

"It did," Raven conceded, "but it wasn't her fault, I don't think."

"It wasn't?" She sounded genuinely amazed.

"No. Our arch-enemy, a man called Slade, manipulated her insecurities and fears to turn her against us. She redeemed herself in the end, but it really was the end; she saved us all from a volcano, but was turned to stone in the process. We tried and tried to save her – I have a lot of spell-books, you see – but we had no luck."

For a long moment, Ashley didn't respond. When she did, it was a measly, "Bummer."

Raven nodded stiffly. "Yes. This all happened a few years ago; eventually, we had to face facts and admit she was gone. But… Well, recently we've been fighting a particular group of villains. We've defeated them for now, which is why we're finally back in Jump. But when we returned, Beast Boy… found you, for lack of better phrasing. He… He thought you were Terra, Ashley." She sighed; the story was harder to tell than she had imagined it would have been. "I apologise for any trouble he's caused you, but I just don't think he's quite ready to let go of Terra yet."

Ashley's blue eyes darted to the floor uncomfortably. "… Okay. So what am I meant to say to him when he follows me 'round?"

"I… I don't know, Ashley," Raven admitted. "I merely wanted to explain the story to you, so you understand _why_ he has this… _fixation_ with you."

There was an incredibly awkward pause between the duo, broken only when Raven noted the sound of Ashley sniffling.

"Are you… crying?" she inquired. She reached out a hand to touch the girl's shoulder, then changed her mind.

"I…" The girl roughly scrubbed a fist across her eyes. "I'm fine, I just… I don't know why he won't leave me alone! Why can't he just forget about me?!"

"Memories and emotions are powerful, Ashley, he can't just choose whether you remind him-"

"No, it's not that, it's…" A tear trickled down her cheek. She sniffed and wiped it away with the back of her hand. "Raven… Can I show _you_ something?"

"I... I don't see why not," answered Raven, unsure.

Ashley hesitated a moment. Raven was about to say she didn't have to do anything she didn't want to, when Ashley tensed and extended her arm. A sizeable lump of rock a few feet away from them rose into the air, glowing as yellow as Ashley's eyes were. She held it in place for several seconds, making sure Raven had received the message, before dropping it again.

Wide-eyed, Raven gazed at the rock in amazement. Then, her eyes drifted to meet Ashley's. Her throat had suddenly gone dry, but she choked out, "Terra."

She nodded once. "Yeah." Her eyes began to water again, before she threw herself at the empath. "Raven, I'm so, so sorry. I never got a chance to tell you guys but I wish I'd never listened to him; I wish I'd never hurt you all..."

They were still for a long time, Terra - Ashley? - sobbing into Raven's shoulder as the elder girl held her. Raven didn't need her empathetic powers to see how guilty and afraid the girl was, and despite her dislike of physical contact, she had no intention of pushing her away. Terra - 'Ashley' - seemed grateful, wrapping her arms tightly around the Titan.

When the girl's weeping began to subside, Raven leaned back, making sure she didn't let go. "Terra, we've forgiven you. We knew you regretted it; if you didn't, you wouldn't have fought Slade." She released her hold on Raven to dry her eyes again. Raven smiled at her. "We really did try to save you, you know."

"Why?" Her voice was small and broken. "I betrayed you. I deserved to-"

"No, you didn't." Raven helped her remove the strands of wet hair from her face. "Terra, I was raised by monks in my home, Azarath. They taught me to control my powers and suppress my emotions. If they hadn't... I would have had less control than you did. I think that was why I had trouble trusting you. I saw a lot of myself in you, and I am the last person I'd trust."

"How come? I'd trust you." She chuckled weakly. "I trusted you with this, right?"

"It's a long, complicated story that you won't want to hear... At least, not now." A grey hand came to rest on the girl's shoulder. "Look, we don't blame you. You shouldn't blame yourself, but I know you do and I understand that. My point is... I will keep your secret. I won't tell anyone what you've just confessed to me. However, if you ever choose to tell them yourself, I'll be there." Raven considered her words for a moment, and added, "I'm sorry too, Terra. If I'd just tried to help you... I don't know. Maybe things would have been different, maybe they wouldn't. I know I would feel less responsible."

"You think you feel responsible?" Terra joked miserably.

She gave Raven a sad little half-smile, and the empath returned it. Another silence settled over them, but this one was more companionable. Comfortable.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did." Terra smirked.

Raven rolled her eyes. "There's the Terra I know and... remember."

She giggled. "Shut up. What did you wanna ask?"

"I wanted to ask why you lied to Beast Boy."

"I... I didn't want him to, well, do what he's doing. Follow me; try to get my attention. I wanted him to forget and move on." Terra slid her hands into her pockets. "I can't go back to the Titans, Raven. Even if you guys could forgive me - which I doubt - I never could. I wanna forget my life as Terra; all I did was hurt people. I wanna start afresh." She indicated her hair and glasses. "Like the new look?"

"It's certainly different. Though I didn't know you needed glasses."

"I don't - the lenses are plastic. I just wanted the change, and it makes my face look different. Thought it might throw BB off." She blushed.

Raven said quietly, "Terra - sorry, Ashley. I'll try to convince Beast Boy to lay off a bit, but I can't promise anything. I just... Be careful out there; there might be people out there that won't let you move on with your life this easily. We'll still protect you, whether you're Terra or Ashley."

"Thank you," she whispered softly, giving Raven another quick hug.

"You're welcome." The empath patted her shoulder. "Now, let's get back to the city. Someone'll notice you're missing soon."

"Probably not," Ashley laughed. "The carers at the orphanage kinda suck when you're older than five."

"You live in an orphanage now?"

"Yep. Couldn't think of anywhere else to go."

She shrugged half-heartedly. "You know where the Tower is, if you ever need it."

"Thanks. I appreciate the offer... Even if I'm not planning to ever take you up on it." The girl giggled sheepishly.

"Fair enough." Raven smirked. "So, I'll see you around?"

"Guess so, yeah." Ashley smiled at her. "I feel a lot better."

"Good. So do I," the empath admitted. "Bye, Ashley."

"Bye, Raven."

Ashley waved goodbye to her, then started walking down the hill, glancing back over her shoulder once to wave again and grin. Raven waved once back, though her smile was a mere shadow of the girl's.

She watched until Ashley's silhouette had vanished completely, before pulling her hood back up and transporting back to the Tower, feeling just a little bit warmer than she had that morning.

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 **Now, before you judge me, I re-watched Aftershock the other day and I had Terra feels, okay? ... That sounded very wrong, I'm sorry :')**

 **So... I kinda wanna explain where this idea came from and why it's taking me so long to update stuff, but I know that'll turn into a huge rant nobody wants to hear, so I'll skip straight to: Thanks for reading, and please review :)**


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